Apparatus for compacting material into drums or bags

ABSTRACT

Compacting apparatus having a material receiver chamber with an inlet opening at the top and an outlet opening at the front, the top and bottom edges of the outlet opening being defined by a circular arcs merging at opposite ends with straight segments which form square corners at the side extremities of the outlet opening. A compaction blade of cross-section substantially the same as the outlet opening, and the cross-section of the lower portion of the material receiver chamber, moves through the chamber and forces material through the outlet opening into a snout. The snout comprises, in succession, a portion of crosssection substantially the same as the receiver chamber outlet opening, a tapered transition portion, and a portion of circular cross-section which diverges outwardly toward a circular snout outlet opening. A receptacle received over the snout is moved along the snout as material is supplied thereto. The blade has cutting teeth which cooperate with a shear bar at the upper portion of the receiver chamber outlet opening. If the blade encounters an obstruction during its compacting stroke, the forward movement of the blade will be reversed, but only for a short period of time, and then the blade will again be moved forwardly into the obstruction, repetitive short strokes being employed to break the obstruction.

Unite States Clar atent [54] APPARATUS FOR COMPACTING MATERIAL INTODRUMS OR BAGS [72] Inventor: Milton Clar, Bethesda, Md.

[73] Assignee: Auto Pak Company, Bladensburg,

[22] Filed: April 12, 1971 [21] Appl.No.: 132,957

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-in-part of Ser. No.33,284, April 30, 1970, Pat. No. 3,614,925, which is acontinuation-in-part of Ser. No. 727,845, May 9, 1968, Pat. No.3,541,949.

[52] US. Cl. ..100/98, 53/77, 53/124 E, 100/49, 100/229 A [51] Int. Cl...B65b 63/02 [58] Field of Search.....53/77, 124 E; 100/98, 49, 229 APrimary Examiner-Travis S. McGehee Att0rneyShapiro & Shapiro Aug. 29,1.972

[5 7 ABSTRACT Compacting apparatus having a material receiver chamberwith an inlet opening at the top and an outlet opening at the front, thetop and bottom edges of the outlet opening being defined by a circulararcs merging at opposite ends with straight segments which form squarecorners at the side extremities of the outlet opening. A compactionblade of cross-section substantially the same as the outlet opening, andthe crosssection of the lower portion of the material receiver chamber,moves through the chamber and forces material through the outlet openinginto a snout. The snout comprises, in succession, a portion ofcross-section substantially the same as the receiver chamber outletopening, a tapered transition portion, and a portion of circularcross-section which diverges outwardly toward a circular snout outletopening. A receptacle received over the snout is moved along the snoutas material is supplied thereto. The blade has cutting teeth whichcooperate with a shear bar at the upper portion of the receiver chamberoutlet opening. If the blade encounters an obstruction during itscompacting stroke, the forward movement of the blade will be reversed,but only for a short period of time, and then the blade will again bemoved forwardly into the obstruction, repetitive short strokes beingemployed to break the obstruction.

11 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures 1 ifajlfi sum 2 OF 4 MILTON CLAR INVENTORBY S/fapiro and 5/50 0270 "maven s PATENTEDwsza I972 SHEET 3 OF 4 mvmwonMILTON CLAR BY Shapiro and 5/70 0170 ATTORNEYS PATENIEDauszs m2 SHEET 4OF FIG 8 0 OFF mvsmon MILTON CLAR 60,090 and 560,000

ATTORNEYS APPARATUS FOR COMPACTING MATERIAL INTO DRUMS OR BAGS REFERENCETO CO-PENDING APPLICATIONS 1968, now US. Pat. No. 3,541,949, grantedNov. 24,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to compactionapparatus for refuse or the like and is more particularly concerned withapparatus for supplying compacted trash to barrels, drums, or bags, forexample.

In the foregoing co-pending applications compaction apparatus isdescribed which employs a material receiver chamber with an inletopening at one side thereof and an outlet opening at one end thereofthrough which material is moved by a blade into a volume-reducing snout.The outlet opening from the receiver chamber is non-circular and has anarea less than the area of a circle with diameter equal to the width ofthe outlet opening. The snout has a preferably circular outlet openingof substantially less area than the area of the outlet opening of thereceiver chamber and includes a tapered transition portion. A containerplaced upon the snout receives the compacted material and moves alongthe snout as the container is filled. The compaction blade has cuttingmembers which cooperate with a shear bar for breaking up large pieces ofmaterial in the receiver chamber. This apparatus of the co-pendingapplications is especially effective in compacting trash from largediameter trash chutes employed in high-rise apartment buildings intoconventional containers and requires very little space for itsinstallation and operation. Compaction ratios of the order of 7 to l orbetter are readily attained, without excessive back pressures upon thepacking blade and without jamming. The invention of the aforesaid Ser.No. 33,284 involves, inter alia, optimization of the shape of thereceiver chamber, blade, and entry and transitional portions of thesnout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed toan improvement upon the apparatus of the aforesaid co-pendingapplications, particularly to improvement of the shape of the finalportion of the snout, to reduce further any tendency toward jamming orexcessive back pressure, and an improvement in the mode of operation inthe event that the blade encounters an obstruction, so as to reduce thecycle time and improve the unjamming action.

It is accordingly a principal object of the present invention to provideimproved apparatus of the foregoing type.

Briefly stated, the present invention employs a material receiverchamber, blade, and projecting snout generally similar to that employedin the apparatus of co-pending application Ser. No. 33,284, but theshape of the final portion of the snout has been modified. Moreover, thecircuit disclosed in the aforesaid US. Pat. No. 3,541,949 has beenmodified to facilitate its operation when the blade encounters anobstruction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be furtherdescribed in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, whichillustrate a preferred and exemplary embodiment, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the apparatus of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation view;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevation view;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line 55 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation view of the blade;

FIG. 7 is a side elevation view illustrating the modified snoutconfiguration of the invention; and

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the electrical and hydraulic circuitemployed in the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to the drawings, thecompaction apparatus of the present invention comprises a housing orshell 10 having a material receiver chamber 12 at the forward end of thehousing and machinery compartment 14 at the rearward end of the housing.The housing has a lower portion defined by a bottom wall (see FIG. 3)which in cross-section includes a circular arc l6 and a pair of straightsegments 18 and 20 which diverge upwardly and outwardly from thecircular arc to the side extremities 22 and 24. The housing hassubstantially vertical side walls 26 and 28, which may be slightlyupwardly divergent to define the side walls of a hopper leading to thematerial receiver chamber. The machinery compartment 14 is separatedfrom the material receiver chamber 12 by an upwardly and rearwardlyinclined wall 30 extending between the side walls of the housing anddefining the rear wall of the hopper. The machinery compartment may havea rear wall at 32 or may be open at the rear. Legs 34 are provided tosupport the housing above the level of the floor.

The front wall 36 of the housing and the depending vertical portion 38of wall 30 cooperate with the lower portion of the housing in definingopenings (the front wall opening being designated 0) for the passage ofa compaction blade 40 of corresponding cross-section. The blade isformed as a hollow box with a cross-section that is circular at top andbottom merging with straight segments at the side extremities. The topand bottom straight segments converge to form square corners at thesides of the blade as shown in FIG. 3. The blade rests upon the bottomof the housing and is constrained against vertical movement by a pair oflongitudinally extending angular guides 42 and 44 (FIG. 3) fixed to theinner surfaces of the side walls of the housing in the machinerycompartment. The front wall 48 of the blade, constituting the packingsurface of the blade, is provided along the upper portion thereof with aseries of forwardly extending teeth 46. The blade is supported in thehousing for reciprocative movement between a retracted position (shownin phantom lines in FIG. 5) at which the front wall 48 of the blade maybe adjacent to the opening in rear wall 38 of the receiver chamber, andan extended position (shown in full lines in FIG. 5) at which the frontwall of the blade projects forwardly beyond the front wall 36 of thehousing.

Reciprocative movement of the blade is obtained by the use of ahydraulic system which includes a pair of hydraulic rams 50 mountedside-by-side in the housing. The cylinders 52 of the rams have one endthereof fixed I to an I-beam 54 mounted horizontally at the rear of thehousing, and the piston rods 56 extend forwardly into the box-likecompaction blade 40 and are connected to the inside of the front wall 48thereof, the rear of the compaction blade being open. The remainder ofthe hydraulic system, which may include a motor-driven pump, four-wayreversing valve, and the usual hydraulic fluid lines, will be describedin greater detail hereinafter. The hydraulic system may be operated by amanual control or by an automatic control, such as an electric eye whichsenses trash deposited upon the top of the extended blade, and suitablelimit switches, pressure switch, relays, solenoids, etc. may be providedas will be set forth later in conjunction with the hydraulic system.

In accordance with the invention, the housing is provided with avolume-reducing tubular snout 58 which projects forwardly from theopening 0 in the front wall of the housing. The snout preferablycomprises three portions, namely a rear or entry portion 60, adjacent tothe front wall 36 of the housing, having an initial cross-section whichmatches and extends from the opening 0 of the front wall, a forward orexit portion 62 of circular cross-section, and an intermediate taperedtransitional portion 64 which connects portions 60 and 62. As shown, thecross-sectional area of the forward portion 62 is substantially lessthan the cross-sectional area of the rearward portion 60 of the snout,and the cross-sectional area of the transitional portion 64 iscontinually reduced to match the forward and rearward portions of thesnout. In the preferred form of the invention illustrated the taper isprincipally in a horizontal plane. The sides of the transitional portion64 comprise wedge-shaped sections 66 having upper and lower surfaceswhich converge to an apex in the direction of the front of the snout. Inaccordance with the invention. it has been found that any tendencytoward jamming and undue back pressure on the blade is significantlyreduced by providing a slight but progressive increase in diameter ofthe forward portion 62 of the snout from the transition portion to theoutlet opening 0'. For convenience this progressive increase in diameterof the circular contours of the snout may take place from the entry ofthe snout to the exit without deleterious effect upon the compactionaccomplished in the transitional portion. Although the increase indiameter in the direction of the outlet end of the snout is only slight,of the order of a quarter of an inch, for example, in a snout 42 incheslong with a final diameter of 16% inches, the taper has been found toproduce a significant improvement. The slight taper is indicated in FIG.7.

The snout is constructed quite simply, starting with a generallycylindrical tube which is slightly conical. The rear portion 60 isformed by cutting notches into the sides of the snout from the rearthereof(the notches appearing rectangular in side elevation and havingupper and lower edges defined by radial planes from the axis of thesnout cylinder at 45 above and 45 below the horizontal), and byattaching at the notches right-angle pieces with the flat surfacesthereof merging with and tangent to the circular surfaces at the top andbottom of the snout. The rear or entry portion of the snout thus formedmatches the outlet opening 0 at the front of the housing. Thetransitional section of the snout is formed by extending the rectangularnotches forwardly with the edges converging to a point, and then byfitting the wedge-shaped pieces 66 to these pointed notch extensions, soas to mate with the right-angle pieces at the rear portion of the snoutand to blend into the circular surfaces at the front portion of thesnout.

The snout may be attached to the housing by means of four fasteners 68,which may include bolts welded to the housing 10, extending into sleeveswelded to a rear flange 67 of the snout, and secured by nuts. The upperportion of the opening 0 at the front of the housing is strengthened andextended rearwardly by a shear bar 69 which conforms to the shape of theopening. The shear bar cooperates with the teeth 48 of the blade inbreaking up large pieces of material which may obstruct the packingaction.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, an arm 70 extends forwardlycantilever-fashion from the rear portion of the snout and supports aswitch 72 adjacent to its forward end. The arm is spaced from the uppersurface of the forward portion of the snout sufficiently to permit areceptacle D, such as a drum, to be placed over the snout, as will bedescribed hereinafter, and to engage the depending actuator 74 of theswitch.

In a typical application of the invention,the compaction apparatus isactuated automatically in response to the presence of material, such astrash, at the inlet opening 1' (FIG. 5) at the top side of the receiverchamber 12. The apparatus of the invention may be located in thebasement of a multi-story apartment building beneath the lower end of achute 76 shown in phantom lines in FIGS. 3 and 4, the housing beingextended upwardly as shown in FIG. 4 to provide an enclosure or hopperinto which the material to be compacted may fall. Wall 30 constitutes adeflection plate for the material which falls through the chute from theupper levels of the apartment house under the influence of gravity.Reference may be made to the applicants US. Pat. No. 3,231,107 for adescription of the arrangement of stationary compaction apparatus in ahigh-rise apartment house.

In the preferred form of the apparatus of the invention the bladenormally rests in its extended or forward position and blocks the inletopening 1' at the top of the receiver chamber. Material dropping fromthe chute thus comes to rest upon the top of the blade where it mayinterrupt a light beam projected from a suitable source, located abovethe blade at one side of the housing, to a photoelectric relay,similarly located at the opposite side of the housing, as described inthe aforesaid patent and the aforesaid co-pending applications. When thelight beam is interrupted, the blade is moved rearwardly to the fullyretracted position illustrated in phantom lines in FIG. 5, and thematerial resting upon the blade drops into the receiver chamber 12, theblade then moving forwardly to force the material through the outletopening 0 at the front of the receiver chamber. Suitable wiper elements78 (FIG. 3), such as canvas or rubber strips, may be secured to wallportion 38 around the upper edges of the opening therein to wipe theblade and prevent material from being carried into the machinerycompartment 14 as the blade moves rearwardly.

When the blade reaches its fully retracted position, the operatingcircuit reverses the movement of the blade, and the blade movesforwardly, forcing the material in the receiver chamber into the snout.If no further material is received on top of the blade when the blade isin its forward or extended position, the blade comes to rest in thatposition. If the blade encounters a large obstruction as it movesforwardly, the operation of the system produces back and forth movementof the blade, causing the teeth 46 to engage the obstructionrepetitively and, by cooperation with the shear bar 69, to break theobstruction if possible and force the pieces into the snout.

The material forced into the rear portion 60 of the snout will begreatly reduced in volume when it encounters the transition section 64and will be squeezed into the forward section 62. When sufi'icientcompacted material accumulates in the snout, the snout will fill up, andthe compacted material will pass through outlet opening 0' of the snoutinto the receptacle D. As more and more compacted material is forcedinto the receptacle, the receptacle, which is closed at its leftend(bottom) in FIG. 4 and is free to move on the snout, will move forwardlyalong the snout under the compressive force of the compaction bladeuntil the actuator 74 of switch 72 is released. This will de-energizethe apparatus and operate an indicator light to signify that thereceptacle should be changed.

Either a drum-type receptacle, such as a 55 gallon metal oil drum, or abag-type receptacle, such as a bag of heavy paper or plastic material,may be employed. The receptacle is preferably placed upon the snoutuntil its major portion (at least 50 percent) overlaps the snout. Thereceptacle need not fit the snout snugly, because it need not partakesignificantly in the compaction of the material received therein. An oildrum manually placed upon the snout until its bottom is a few inchesfrom outlet 0 will move forwardly when filled until it tips and thebottom-side corner engages the floor, whereupon the drum may be manuallyremoved from the snout and replaced by another.

As set forth in the aforesaid co-pending applications, apparatusheretofore proposed to compact material supplied from a chute and tofeed the compacted material to a receptacle employs a blade which movesthe material from a receiver chamber and through a tapered snout.However, such apparatus relies upon circular cross-sectional geometryexclusively. (Rudimentary non-circular tapered compaction apparatus hasbeen employed in packaging Christmas trees, for example, but is notsuitable for handling trash supplied as in the environment of thepresent invention.) The applicant discovered that an optimumrelationship exists between the cross-sectional area of the opening atthe front of the receiver chamber (the entry to the snout), thecross-sectional area at the discharge outlet of the snout, the amount ofcompaction obtained, and the force required to drive the compactionblade, and that in practice the relationship cannot be fulfilled withcircular geometry compaction apparatus in association with largediameter chutes and conventional containers. Optimum operation, withcompaction of the order of 7 to 1 (volume reduction) for ordinary drytrash is obtained when the area of the discharge opening of the snout isapproximately 78 percent of the area of the outlet from the receiverchamber. If this percentage increases appreciably, the compaction ratiodecreases, and if the percentage decreases appreciably, the increasedcompaction is not justified by the great increase in energy required todo the compacting. If the receiver chamber is a cylinder of circularcross-section with a circular outlet opening, the diameter of thereceiver chamber must be sufficient to accommodate the large diameterchutes which must be employed in apartment buildings, for example, foradequate handling of conventionally disposed items such as largecardboard boxes and bundles of newspapers. Severely tapered hopper wallsleading to a smaller diameter chamber promote jamming by large objects.Typically the chute may have a 24 inch or 30 inch diameter or width. Ifthe diameter of the receiver chamber is commensurately large, as isnecessary to prevent clogging at the inlet opening of the receiverchamber, the diameter of the outlet of the snout must also be quitelarge. Otherwise, the back pressure upon the packing blade becomesenormous, and the amount of energy required to compact the materialbecomes impractically large. If a large enough snout outlet diameter isemployed to prevent these conditions, the cross-sectional area ofconventional receptacles is too small to fit the snout. Hence,unconventional and expensive receptacles must be employed, and suchreceptacles are so large that they become unwieldy, making it verydifficult to handle them manually when filled.

As set forth in the aforesaid co-pending applications, the foregoingproblems are overcome by providing compaction apparatus with a receiverchamber wide enough to accommodate a large diameter chute, such as a 24inch diameter or 30 inch diameter chute, and which yet permits the useof a relatively small diameter snout outlet commensurate withconventional receptacles, such as 55 gallon oil drums and paper bags ofsimilar size. The invention set forth in the co-pending applicationsemploys a blade of greater width than height, the receiver chamberoutlet opening and the lower portion of the receiver chamber matchingthe configuration of the blade, and the receiver chamber outlet openinghaving its widest dimension disposed horizontally, so as to accommodatethe width of the chute. If a receiver chamber outlet opening of circularcross-section with diameter equal to the width of the receiver chamberwere employed, the diameter of the outlet of the snout would have to bemuch too large to meet the practical considerations set forth above. Thecross-sectional area of the outlet opening of the receiver chamber ofthe apparatus of the co-pending applications is, however, substantiallyless than the cross-sectional area of a circle with diametercorresponding to the width of the receiver chamber, and thus thecross-sectional area of the snout outlet may be made small enough to fitconventional receptacles without exceeding practical criteria forefficient compaction in terms of the amount of volume reduction obtainedfrom a given energy input.

FIG. 8 illustrates the schematic diagram of an electro-hydraulic circuitfor performing the operations described above. The pump motor may besupplied from 208 volt 3-phase supply lines through a motor starterrelay 132. l volt AC for the remainder of the circuit is provided by atransformer 134 connected across two of the 3-phase lines, ground forone side of the 115 volt system and for the motor 80 being connected toone side of the secondary winding of transformer 134. Pump P suppliesfluid to control valve V through check valve 84.

The light source 124 and photoelectric relay 126 are supplied fromtransformer 134 as shown. The motor starter relay 132 is controlled byrelay CR1, which closes a circuit for energizing the motor starter relaywhen the light beam from source 124 is interrupted so as to close thecontacts of relay 126, thereby completing a circuit through the coil ofrelay CR1, switch 72 (closed upon its lower contact) and on-off switch138. Actuation of relay CR1 closes two sets of contacts, the uppercontacts illustrated extending in energization circuit to the coil ofthe motor starter relay 132 and to the coil of relay CR2, and the lowercontacts illustrated providing a holding circuit for relay CR1 throughthe upper contacts of limit switch LS1, which is normally closed uponits upper contact and is closed upon its lower contact when the blade isin its forward rest position. Energization of relay CR2 closes its twosets of contacts, the upper set completing an actuating circuit forsolenoid 88 of the two-way control valve V, and the lower contactscompleting a holding circuit for relay CR2 through limit switch LS2,which is normally closed and which is opened by the compaction bladewhen the blade reaches its fully retracted position. Limit switches LS1and LS2 may be positioned on a side wall of the housing, as indicated inthe aforesaid US. Pat. No. 3,541,949 and may have actuating arms whichproject through openings in the side wall to engage a cam mounted uponthe blade. A manual reverse switch R shunts the upper contacts of relayCR2 and thus permits energization of solenoid 88 independently of therelay. A pressure switch PS controls the energization circuit of a timedelay relay TD, the contacts of which also shunt the upper contacts ofrelay CR2. Switch 72, previously described in connection with the snout,controls an indicator lamp 140 to indicate that the container orreceptacle is full, and to interrupt operation of the compactionapparatus.

When material to be compacted comes to rest upon the top of the normallyextended compaction blade 42 and interrupts the light beam from source124, photoelectric relay 126 is actuated, losing the motor starter relay132 and energizing pump motor St). in the extended position of theblade, switch LS1 is closed upon its lower contact (by the actuating camon the blade). Actuation of photoelectric relay 126 not only energizesrelay CR1 to energize the starter relay 132, but also energizes relayCR2, which closes its contacts, energizing solenoid 88 and providing aself-holding circuit through limit switch LS2. Energization of solenoid88 places the control valve V in a position which causes the compactionblade 42 to move rearwardly, releasing the arm of switch LS1 andpermitting it to close normally upon its upper contact and provide aholding circuit for relay CR1. As the blade moves rearwardly, thematerial on top of the blade falls into the receiver chamber 12,removing the interruption of the light beam and permitting photoelectricrelay 126 to open its contacts. Relays CR1 and CR2 remain energized,

however, by virtue of the holding circuit just mentioned. When the bladereaches its fully retracted position, switch LS2 is opened by theactuator cam on the blade, breaking the holding circuit for relay CR2,which becomes de-energized and thus de-energizes solenoid 88. Thecontrol valve V is returned to its forward" position by its spring bias,causing reversal of the hydraulic fluid path to the cylinders 50 andthereby moving the compaction blade forwardly and forcing the materialinto the snout. The blade moves forwardly until the limit switch LS1 ismoved from its upper contact to its lower contact. This movementimmediately opens the holding circuit for relay CR1, de-energizing thisrelay and the motor starter relay 132. The apparatus thus comes to rest.

In the event that the compaction blade encounters a large obstruction asit moves forwardly, sufficient to cause the hydraulic pressure in thehydraulic lines supplying fluid to the cylinders 50 to rise to apredetermined level required to actuate the pressure switch PS, thepressure switch will close, energizing relay TD, which closes itcontacts and energizes solenoid 88, so as to reverse the movement of theblade. Such movement of the blade will reduce the hydraulic pressurebelow the level required to hold switch PS closed and will permit thepressure switch to open, but the relay TD will remain closed for aperiod of time determined by the built-in time delay. When the contactsof relay TD open, the blade will move forwardly again and engage theobstruction. If the obstruction is not broken, the pressure will buildup again, and the same cycle will repeat. Thus, the teeth 46 will engagethe obstruction repetitively and, by cooperation with the shear bar,break the obstruction if possible and force the pieces into the snout.The time delay relay provides retracting movement of the blade for alimited time only, substantially less than required to retract the bladefully from the shear bar. This prevents substantial further materialfrom falling in front of the blade and interfering with the action ofthe teeth. Also the cycle time is not unduly increased. The combinationof a slightly diverging snout exit portion, which relieves back pressuresomewhat, and the improved action of the blade minimizes jamming.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changescan be made in these embodiments without departing from the principlesand spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in theappended claims.

The invention claimed is:

l. Compaction apparatus comprising a tubular snout having an entryportion with cross-section wider than high, an exit portion ofcross-sectional area less than that of the entry portion, and a taperedtransitional portion connecting said entry and exit portions, thecrosssectional area of said exit portion increasing in the direction ofan outlet opening of said exit portion, and means for compactingmaterial in said snout through said entry portion, said snout beingfreely exposed along a substantial part of its length and adapted toreceive a tubular receptacle placed over the exit portion of said snoutthrough one end of the receptacle with the snout extending along themajor portion of said receptacle and with the receptacle being free tomove along said snout, the opposite end of said receptacle being closed,whereby material is compacted in said snout and forced into saidreceptacle, causing said receptacle to move along said snout as itfills, the increase in cross-sectional area of said exit portionreducing the back pressure upon said compacting means.

2. Compaction apparatus comprising a material receiver chamber having amaterial inlet opening at one side thereof and an outlet opening at oneend thereof, and a tubular snout extending from said outlet opening andhaving an outlet opening spaced from the first-mentioned outlet opening,the second-mentioned outlet opening being substantially circular and thefirstmentioned outlet opening being non-circular and having an areasubstantially greater than that of the second-mentioned outlet openingbut substantially less than the area of a circle with a diameterconstituted by the width of the first-mentioned outlet opening, theportion of said snout adjacent to the second-mentioned outlet openinghaving a cross-sectional area which expands in the direction of thesecond-mentioned outlet opening.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the ratio of the width of thefirst-mentioned outlet opening to the width of the second-mentionedoutlet opening is about 3 to 2.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, the area of the secondmentioned outletopening being no less than about 78 percent of the area of thefirst-mentioned outlet opening.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the ratio of the width to height ofthe first-mentioned outlet opening is substantially 3 to 2.

- 6. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first-mentioned outletopening, has corners at its side extemities.

7. Compaction apparatus comprising a material receiver chamber having anoutlet opening at one end thereof with a tubular snout projecting fromsaid opening, said opening being defined by circular arcs at the top andbottom merging at opposite ends thereof with straight segments, straightsegments at the top converging with the corresponding straight segmentsat the bottom to form corners at the side extremities of said opening,said snout having a first portion of cross-section substantially similarto the said opening, a second portion of substantially circularcross-sectional area less than the cross-sectional area of said firstportion, and a transitional portion connecting said first and secondportions, said second portion having a crosssectional area which expandsin a direction away from said transitional portion, and a compactionblade supported for movement in said material receiver chamber towardand away from said snout, said snout being freely exposed along asubstantial part of its length and adapted to receive a tubularcontainer thereon over said second portion.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, said blade having an upper portion withwalls diverging downwardly and outwardly to the side extremities of saidchamber.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein said transitional portion comprisesa pair of snout sections at opposite sides of said snout which convergetoward the center of said snout horizontally and each of which includessurfaces which converge vertically.

l0. Compaction apparatus comprising a material receiver chamber havingan inlet openingl at one side thereof and an outlet opening at one end tereof, shear bar means adjacent to said outlet opening, a compactionblade supported for movement in said chamber toward and away from saidshear bar means and said opening, said blade having cutter meansextending therefrom toward said shear bar means and cooperable therewithto shear material in said chamber, a hydrau lic system for causing saidmovement of said blade, said system having control means for causingsaid blade to move away from said shear bar means when the hydraulicpressure in said system reaches a predetermined level, but only for atime substantially less than that required for the blade to move fromsaid shear bar means to its farthest position therefrom, and forthereafter causing said blade to move toward said shear bar means again,said control means comprising a time delay relay.

1].. The apparatus of claim 10, said outlet opening having a tubularsnout extending therefrom away from said chamber and having an outletopening spaced from the first-mentioned outlet opening, thesecondmentioned outlet opening being substantially circular and thefirst-mentioned outlet opening being non-circular and having an areasubstantially greater than that of the second-mentioned outlet openingbut substantially less than the area of a circle with a diameterconstituted by the width of the first-mentioned outlet opening, theportion of said snout adjacent to the secondmentioned outlet openinghaving a cross-sectional area which expands in the direction of thesecond-mentioned outlet opening.

1. Compaction apparatus comprising a tubular snout having an entryportion with cross-section wider than high, an exit portion ofcross-sectional area less than that of the entry portion, and a taperedtransitional portion connecting said entry and exit portions, thecross-sectional area of said exit portion increasing in the direction ofan outlet opening of said exit portion, and means for compactingmaterial in said snout through said entry portion, said snout beingfreely exposed along a substantial part of its length and adapted toreceive a tubular receptacle placed over the exit portion of said snoutthrough one end of the receptacle with the snout extending along themajor portion of said receptacle and with the receptacle being free tomove along said snout, the opposite end of said receptacle being closed,whereby material is compacted in said snout and forced into saidreceptacle, causing said receptacle to move along said snout as itfills, the increase in cross-sectional area of said exit portionreducing the back pressure upon said compacting means.
 2. Compactionapparatus comprising a material receiver chamber having a material inletopening at one side thereof and an outlet opening at one end thereof,and a tubular snout extending from said outlet opening and having anoutlet opening spaced from the first-mentioned outlet opening, thesecond-mentioned outlet opening being substantially circular and thefirst-mentioned outlet opening being non-circular and having an areasubstantially greater than that of the second-mentioned outlet openingbut substantially less than the area of a circle with a diameterconstituted by the width of the first-mentioned outlet opening, theportion of said snout adjacent to the second-mentioned outlet openinghaving a cross-sectional area which expands in the direction of thesecond-mentioned outlet opening.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, whereinthe ratio of the width of the first-mentioned outlet opening to thewidth of the second-mentioned outlet opening is about 3 to
 2. 4. Theapparatus of claim 2, the area of the second-mentioned outlet openingbeing no less than about 78 percent of the area of the first-mentionedoutlet opening.
 5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the ratio of thewidth to height of the first-mentioned outlet opening is substantially 3to
 2. 6. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first-mentioned outletopening, has corners at its side extremities.
 7. Compaction apparatuscomprising a material receiver chamber having an outlet opening at oneend thereof with a tubular snout projecting from said opening, saidopening being defined by circular arcs at the top and bottom merging atopposite ends thereof with straight segments, straight segments at thetop converging with the corresponding straight segments at the bottom toform corners at the side extremities of said opening, said snout havinga first portion of cross-section substantially similar to the saidopening, a second portion of substantially circular cross-sectional arealess than the cross-sectional area of said first portion, and atransitional portion connecting said first and second portions, saidsecond portion having a cross-sectional area which expands in adirection away from said transitional portion, and a compaction bladesupported for movement in said material receiver chamber toward and awayfrom said snout, said snout being freely exposed along a substantialpart of its length and adapted to receive a tubular container thereonover said second portion.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, said blade havingan upper portion with walls diverging downwardly and outwardly to theside extremities of said chamber.
 9. The apparatus of claim 7, whereinsaid transitional portion comprises a pair of snout secTions at oppositesides of said snout which converge toward the center of said snouthorizontally and each of which includes surfaces which convergevertically.
 10. Compaction apparatus comprising a material receiverchamber having an inlet opening at one side thereof and an outletopening at one end thereof, shear bar means adjacent to said outletopening, a compaction blade supported for movement in said chambertoward and away from said shear bar means and said opening, said bladehaving cutter means extending therefrom toward said shear bar means andcooperable therewith to shear material in said chamber, a hydraulicsystem for causing said movement of said blade, said system havingcontrol means for causing said blade to move away from said shear barmeans when the hydraulic pressure in said system reaches a predeterminedlevel, but only for a time substantially less than that required for theblade to move from said shear bar means to its farthest positiontherefrom, and for thereafter causing said blade to move toward saidshear bar means again, said control means comprising a time delay relay.11. The apparatus of claim 10, said outlet opening having a tubularsnout extending therefrom away from said chamber and having an outletopening spaced from the first-mentioned outlet opening, thesecond-mentioned outlet opening being substantially circular and thefirst-mentioned outlet opening being non-circular and having an areasubstantially greater than that of the second-mentioned outlet openingbut substantially less than the area of a circle with a diameterconstituted by the width of the first-mentioned outlet opening, theportion of said snout adjacent to the second-mentioned outlet openinghaving a cross-sectional area which expands in the direction of thesecond-mentioned outlet opening.